-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Ian Livingstone may not be the father of Lara Croft , but maybe at 63 he can be labeled the grandfather of Lara , the Tomb Raider .

On the eve of the reboot of the franchise , with a younger and more realistic Lara , the life president of Eidos told me about that snowy night in March of 1995 when he reluctantly decided to travel to Derby England via car from Birmingham .

He is forever grateful that he did .

Livingstone was being shown around the offices of Core Design as he was doing due diligence ahead of a possible takeover by Eidos .

`` In the very last room , '' Ian recalled , `` I think you could say it was love at first sight . There was this amazing character , on screen . It was the very first character with 3-D model , in a 3-D that was a female character . ''

For a generation , video games had been 2-D worlds with the action moving across the screen .

`` Here is one with the character moving into the screen . And there she was , Lara Croft . And we had to have her . It was quite radical . Up to then , games were played mainly by teenage boys and the games were made were also men , so they tended to make male heroes . ''

Eidos bought Core Design and in 1996 Lara Croft , with her short trousers and large bust , hit computer screens .

The game became huge . Since then , 30 million copies of Tomb Raider have been sold , before the launch of the new Tomb Raider Monday .

But before you think Livingstone lucked into finding Lara Croft quietly being designed by Toby Gard at Core Design , this was 20 years in the making .

Livingstone and his school friend Steve Jackson enjoyed playing board games , especially role-playing games . They started to write role-playing books and eventually discovered the American game Dungeons and Dragons .

They got the exclusive European distribution rights to the board game on the back of ordering just six copies of D&D , according to Livingstone , and the set about trying to sell the games to stores .

It was n't easy .

`` We had to live in a van for three months as we tried to get people to understand this strange role-playing game , '' Livingstone told me . However , he added , `` we never shied away from the challenge . We ended up opening our own shops because other people were reluctant to stock the games . ''

That string of stores , known as Games Workshop , set them on their way . And board games to video games was a natural progression .

Now , with a CBE in the pocket and the honor title of Life President for Eidos -- a brand name now owned by Square Enix -- Livingstone is more of a advocate for the British video games and film graphics business .

The UK was once in the top three in terms of games and graphics business , but has slipped to six . Livingstone says he knows why .

British schools .

`` The curriculum was simply teaching children how to use technology , not how to make technology , '' Livingstone told me . `` So it was making digital users , not digital makers . ''

Livingstone and Alex Hope , of Double Negative , were asked to make recommendations to the government to transform the school curriculum to teach people how to program , and not just use , video games .

As Livingstone likes to point out , the UK games and graphics business is bigger than the film industry . And the industry supplies the film industry but also the military , among other customers .

As for the new Tomb Raider , the reset is a chance to introduce Lara Croft to a new audience and make her a more realistic role model .

`` Back in the 90s , it was more of a sort of cartoon character , '' Livingstone said . `` And now it 's a realistic character . And realism goes to looks , behavior , and everything about the woman is real . ''

That includes Lara being younger and with a smaller bust size .

`` In past Tomb Raiders , the combat had not been as real as it might have been . So , the decision was made to give it that gritty realism . And she was no longer that armor-plated Teflon-coated hero . Here was this character that you played as Lara , who could sustain damage . ''

But not be raped , Livingstone told me , recalling a misstep by an employee who said last year that one scene could be seen as the prelude to a sexual assault .

`` There was no rape implication . There was a threat which she survived by throwing off her adversary . '' The player has the tools to overcome the man and kill him within seconds , Livingstone said .

With the reboot now out , it ca n't be long before we read of a new Lara Croft film with a new , younger , actress to set the mark for a new franchise .

Then , more games must be on the cards .

Lara lives on .

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Thirty million copies of Tomb Raider had been sold before the launch of the new Tomb Raider on March 4

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Livingstone likes to point out the UK games and graphics business is bigger than the film industry

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For a generation , video games had been 2-D worlds with the action moving across the screen , writes Boulden